'Go On': Matthew Perry scores with new sitcom

"Go On": Pictured: (left, top down) Tyler James Williams as Owen, John Cho as Steven, Laura Benanti as Lauren, (center) Matthew Perry as Ryan, (right, top down) Brett Gelman as Mr. K, Julie White as Anne and Suzy Nakamura as Yolanda. (photo by Robert Trachtenberg/NBC)

Behind the Screens
with Joshua Maloni

On "Go On,"
Matthew Perry's character, Ryan King, can't understand why he's sent
to group therapy. He just wants to work - he doesn't want to talk
about his wife's unexpected passing, and he doesn't want to share his
feelings.

But when he meets
those dealing with loss, as he is, the results are unexpected -
funny, touching and encouraging.

In real life, Perry
didn't wasn't looking for another sitcom. As one of the stars of
"Friends," he was blessed with the highest levels of television
success, but cursed in that every subsequent comedic turn would be
compared to his role as Chandler Bing. Perry just wanted to work; he
didn't want to rehash the past.

"I was looking to
do a drama and had met all the networks and studios about - in the
development season - about finding a drama and was sent this ('Go
On' script)," he said. "And it's obviously a comedy and I could
tell by, like, the amount of pages that it was a comedy and I called
my manager and said. 'Why did you send me this?' and he said just
read it."

When Perry went
over the script, he realized "Go On" "was just written really
well."

"I realized that
it had all of the elements that I was looking for," he said. "It
had, you know, it was definitely funny; it had a lot of funny
characters in it. And also it posed a big dramatic challenge, too. So
- plus I had known (creator) Scott Silveri for - he was on
'Friends 'for eight years and he'd written a really great script,
so I was in."

Like his character,
Perry has gained from working with a group. Thanks to an assortment
of different personalities, each with a big heart and a wry sense of
humor, "Go On" is one of the more entertaining sitcoms of the new
fall season.

"Scott Silveri,
like, panicked about a month before we started the show, and was like
'This is a show about a guy who lost his wife. We have to have, like,
as many funny people surrounding him as possible," Perry said. "And
sort of that panic led to the casting of Sarah Baker (cat lover
Sonia), who's hilarious, and Brett Gelman (the oddball Mr. K),
who's just really, really funny. Laura Benanti (therapy leader
Lauren) is hilarious and so it's sort of my job if I'm looking to
do a TV show to try to surround myself with the funniest people
possible, and it was Scott's job to make that happen as well. So,
John Cho (Steven) playing my boss, Alison Miller (Carrie) playing my
assistant. I mean, it a really great - everywhere you look is just
a funny, smart, talented, driven person, which makes the show even
better."